


because

by civillove



Series: plans wrapped in rubber bands [18]
Category: Good Girls (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-07
Updated: 2019-06-07
Packaged: 2020-04-12 05:29:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,369
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19125544
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/civillove/pseuds/civillove
Summary: Prompt from lilliloves: A fic prompt for your AMAZING series! I’d love to see Annie and Ruby witness Beth and Rio interact more with each other and be surprised at how natural they are together/how well they work together! (this was also requested by anon: I’d love to see more Annie and Ruby - maybe even see them witness Beth and Rio’s relationship more and come around to the idea of it)--“Do you ever…take Marcus to birthday parties?” Comes out quickly, somehow loud in the quiet room. Subtle.Rio’s voice is softer and when he speaks it sounds like he might have been falling asleep when she asked, “You mean like drop him off or spend time with other dads drinkin’ and commentin’ on mindless sports games.”There’s a hint of amusement on his tongue and Beth smiles a little, “Well I didn't mean exactly like that.”





	because

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for all the warm reviews and encouragements! It means a lot :)

_Reeds and plants, rocks, dirt pinching under her fingernails. It’s always the same. Mud slithers around her ankles and tugs and by then it’s too late—she’s under. She screams but nothing comes out and sludge fills her mouth and throat, choking her._ _Warez and the man she’s killed and the woman from the motel, she sees details of her cut neck sink under the mud._

_She’s stuck under a massive weight and it pushes her deeper under._

_Beth uses her legs or tries to, pushing against the mud and hoisting herself up with leverage—her head breaks the surface, and she feels herself teeter against staying afloat and slipping under. Everything is red, staining her vision, coughs and gasps getting stuck in her throat._

_She sees a dark figure on the edge of the riverbed and reaches for them, especially when she feels that familiar grip of something grabbing her feet, webbing its way up her legs._

_A choked noise that distinctly sounds like a garbled ‘help’ as someone walks towards her on the bank._

_Even through the mud caked on her face, the blood in her eyes, she knows who it is._

_Of course, it’s him—_

_He reaches a hand out, almost like he’s going to pull her up and out—_

_But all Rio does is push her head back under the mud._

Beth jerks up in bed, her hand flying to her throat almost automatically as she breathes. It’s harsh and heavy, sweat sticking to the back of her neck and along her hairline while her heart sledgehammers against her ribcage.

It takes her a moment to get her bearings and to realize she’s alone as her other hand comes down on an empty pillow beside her. She swallows, leans back against the headboard, gathering sheets between her fingers and closing her eyes a moment to regulate her quickened pulse.

This time her dream had been different.

This time…

She opens her eyes slowly, looking around Rio’s apartment only to be met with a soft silence: cars passing outside, the hum of the refrigerator, a TV on somewhere below her. No sign of Rio…but maybe that’s a good thing.

Beth can still feel his hands on her, pushing her back under the mud—the sensation so strong that she nearly squirms against the sheets. She pulls them back and quickly gets out of bed, moving in the dark to the bathroom to splash cold water on her face.

She lets out a soft sigh, leaning against the counter, letting water droplets wash over her and drip back into the sink. She doesn’t understand why her subconscious would be putting Rio into that position—he wouldn’t push her under, he’d be the one to pull her out…wouldn’t he? She understands that while it might be easy to blame all of this on him for the things she’s been through, they’re partners for a reason—she can’t pretend like she never wanted any of this.

So why didn’t he help her?

Beth dries off her face and opens the bedroom door, pausing to look down at—

“Marcus.” She smiles gently at his pajamas, a baseball print this time, his arms clutching a stuffed dinosaur to his chest. “You looking for your dad?”

He shakes his head and looks over his shoulder towards the front door. “He’s on the phone.” Beth licks her lips and nods in that direction before she puts her hand through his hair. “You were talking in your sleep.”

She feels herself blush, red working it’s way down her chest because she can only imagine what she said. “Just a dream. Come on, let’s get you back to bed. It’s late.”

Beth urges him forward and Marcus walks back towards his bedroom. He waits until she pulls the covers back further so he can crawl in, bringing them up to his chest.

“Was it bad?”

She swallows and sits down next to his legs, a soft sigh leaving her lips as her eyes dance over dinosaur figurines on his nightstand. “Yes.” She admits.

When she doesn’t expand, Marcus tries his best to make her feel better. “Sometimes I dream I’m getting eaten by an iguanodon.”

A laugh sneaks up out of her throat, she can’t help it, and his gives her a toothy grin back. “Well, isn’t that weird? Seeing as how they only eat plants.”

“I know, that’s why it’s scary!”

She shakes her head, ruffling his hair a little before reaching for his bedside lamp. “Your dad can definitely handle an iguanodon, so it better watch out.” She teases, standing up from his bed.

“Ms. Beth,” Marcus calls to her before she can leave, pulling his dinosaur stuffed animal up from under the sheets. She pauses until she realizes that he’s giving it to her and she gently takes the well-loved raptor from him. He’s blue and a little shiny with one missing eyeball but she smiles nonetheless.

“For bad dreams.” He explains, like it’s that easy, and turns over on his side to sleep.

Beth feels her chest fill with warmth, all encompassing, almost enough to push away all the bad thoughts that woke her up in the first place. She makes sure he’s tucked in and strokes her fingers through his hair one more time before walking back to Rio’s bed.

She sits down and pulls her legs up and under herself, turning the bedside light on as she sets the raptor on her lap. Her fingers play with the one remaining eye as Rio comes back into his apartment, quietly shutting the door and locking it behind him. He sets his keys down somewhere, she can hear it, before she looks up at him approaching the bed.

He’s surprised to see her awake in the hesitance of his steps, his eyes falling to the raptor on her lap before a soft smile tugs at the ends of his mouth. “You good?”

She nods as he sets his phone down on the nightstand. “You?”

“Aviles.” It’s all he says; which she knows means _don’t worry about it._

Rio takes his t-shirt off after his shoes, lining them up inside of his closet and crossing the room to sit next to her. “Did you have another one?”

Beth’s not even sure why she tries to hide anything from him but she just shrugs her one shoulder. She’s too frazzled to talk about it, especially this new iteration that she doesn’t want to give any meaning to—as if it’ll go away because she’s not dwelling on it.

Rio picks up the raptor off her lap, holding it between his hands before looking over at her. That chain he wears hovers in the air a moment as he leans his elbows onto his knees. Her fingers twitch because she wants to reach over and play with it to keep her hands busy.

“Marcus only sleeps with this when he has bad dreams. I’m assumin’ he gave it to you for a reason.”

Beth lets out a long sigh out her nose, moving to pick up the raptor and squeeze it before setting it in bed near her pillow. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

He hums a little under his breath before he nods, standing up from bed to move to the other side. Pulling the covers back a little, he crawls in, adjusting the pillows so he can lean against the headboard. He reaches a hand over and brushes her hair over her shoulder, motioning with his chin as he catches her gaze.

She can feel herself melt into his embrace, lying down onto her side so her arm wraps around his torso. Beth rests her cheek against his chest, her nose brushing along his sternum as he pulls her closer, the covers tugged up over both of them.

This is better, she thinks, than talking about her nightmares.

His skin is warm and comforting against her own, his heart beating along the shell of her ear, his fingers brushing absently through her hair. She allows her eyes to close, evening out her breathing for a few moments before pressing a soft kiss along a tattoo near his collarbone.

She chews on her lower lip, letting her mind wander as they lay there: she somehow has so much coming up in the next week that she’s a little thankful that Veto has given them a month to get the car situation in order. Sometimes it’s hard for her to find the perfect balance of working with Rio and being a mother (with all the small jobs that it comes with). It’s never about regret, trying to make this all work, but every so often she just has to find her center again.

Jane’s birthday is coming up, so she has a small party to plan—she gave a few tasks to Dean that she feels like she’s going to have to do herself anyways. Shouldn’t be that hard, regardless if she has to do a few things over; she’s got the cake and balloons ordered, she’s making all the food, she gave Dean a few decorations to pick up and hors d'oeuvres to look into…but other than that? Invitations have been sent and she’s keeping track of RSVPs.

She feels Rio shift underneath her, getting more comfortable, his leg moving and a soft sigh leaving his lips.

Beth’s eyes slowly open, her stomach swooping as she thinks about something that she hadn’t considered before. She vaguely remembers asking Rio that night she was drunk if he wanted to go back into the bar for another drink—to mix her relationship with something more casual and fun that she was doing with Annie and Ruby.

She constantly wants to toe the line of her partnership and something more, wants to blur it and almost _get rid of it_ because why can’t she have both? _You know why you can’t have both._

Will she seem stupid for even asking?

“Do you ever…take Marcus to birthday parties?” Comes out quickly, somehow loud in the quiet room. _Subtle._

Rio’s voice is softer and when he speaks it sounds like he might have been falling asleep when she asked, “You mean like drop him off or spend time with other dads drinkin’ and commentin’ on mindless sports games.”

There’s a hint of amusement on his tongue and Beth smiles a little, “Well I didn't mean exactly like that.”

She feels his hand stroke through her hair, pushing some behind her shoulder. “Nah, I mean I take him to things—he's a popular kid, lots of friends...but I don’t linger.”

Beth feels like she should have suspected that; a stone welling in her chest, getting ready to fall past her sternum and into her stomach to crush the butterflies fluttering there. “Safer that way?”

He hums, “Why you askin’?”

And she should’ve known that she’d have to explain her odd line of questioning. She swallows and waits as long as she can before she very hesitatingly says, “Jane’s birthday party is next week and I’m having a party at the house.”

She wonders if he’s connecting the dots, quiet as she continues.

“I thought maybe you could bring Marcus.”

Rio goes stiff underneath her and she sits up a little so she can look at his face; something is conflicting with his expression, two emotions that she can’t name passing over his features. There’s a strong line to his jaw as he considers what to say, chews on it before he finally shakes his head.

“I can’t, ma.”

Beth knows that was going to be the answer, she expected it and yet she can’t help but feel slightly disappointed. She nods and curls her hair around her ear, her eyes falling to the smooth skin of his chest like it might distract her, take the _look_ off her face that she can feel him reading.

He clears his throat, “Especially with your dumbass husband being there. You really wanna start somethin' at your daughter’s birthday?”

“Ex-husband,” Beth protests weakly but she knows Rio makes too many valid points. Regardless of paperwork being signed and taken care of, Dean still dislikes Rio, knows what he stands for and represents and it'd probably cause a scene to have him there.

She’s trying to think of how to explain her reasoning for this, of how she feels without sounding ridiculous. Whatever this _is_ between them, it’s like a flower that’s blossoming in the dark—they can’t see it but something is _happening._ The petals close up under the light, under too much scrutiny, she’s worried about putting a label on something so delicate.

“I just…I’m trying to make this feel a little more normal.”

His lips pull up into a small smile, “We definin’ this now?”

Beth rolls her eyes and lies back down on him; this was the worst idea, now he’s never going to let it go. “Shut up. I’m uninviting you.”

A warm laugh bubbles up from his chest, “You can’t uninvite someone who’s not goin’.”

“I can do what I want, you should know this by now.”

Rio’s hand snakes down her side and presses his fingers between her ribs and she squirms at the sensation until she’s further up in bed, their faces lining up as he turns to look at her.

He smirks, “Tell me you’re gettin’ a bounce house again and I might change my mind.”

She kisses him instead of responding.

\--

If Beth knows how to do anything other than drops and car sales, it’s how to throw a party. The entire backyard is transformed into ballerina details that include sparkly tutus and wands scattered about, lots of pink and gold balloons and streamers and a small dance floor set up near the tree house with miniature disco balls and fairy lights hanging from the tree.

It’s mostly kids outside, running around her backyard getting into games and eating too much candy before the cake but there are some parents milling around her patio and picnic table. Beth passes them with a soft smile before heading inside her back door to the kitchen where Ruby and Annie are seated putting the finishing touches on a batch of cookies. Or well, Ruby is…Annie is eating icing directly out of the bowl.

Beth swats at her one hand, “Annie, that’s for the cookies.”

Annie scrunches her nose, her lips slightly pinker from the dye in the icing. “Too much sugar is bad for them anyways.”

“Tell that to your thighs.” Ruby smirks, adding silver glitter to a few cookies that have icing on them.

Annie fake laughs something ugly but at least stops snacking on the icing before grabbing another naked cookie from the tray to do what she’s supposed to be doing. “So you left off with Veto giving you a month?”

Beth lets out a soft sigh and takes the cake out of the fridge, opening up the box to peak inside. The last thing she wants to do is talk about work but she can’t blame them for having questions: that’s what happens when you spend a girl’s night  on catching up before getting distracted by too much wine and who ate the last Klondike bar.

“That’s pretty much it,” Beth shrugs her shoulder and takes Jane’s cake out of the box. “Rio’s handling the cars and fixing that end of our problem so we should be good to go for our next meeting.”

Annie puts a finished cookie on top of others on a plate. “Good. If he’s busy with that then he won’t show up at yet _another_ one of your kid’s birthday parties with a gun.”

Beth, for some reason, feels that same disappointment skitter around her spine like a snake and dips her chin to focus on trying to find candles in one of her kitchen drawers. “Yeah.” She mumbles, can feel Ruby’s eyes on her, trying to turn her pages.

“What about this Carlita bitch?” Ruby points an icing tainted butter knife at her, “I don’t like the sound of her.”

Annie nods; once again has icing in her mouth. “Yeah, what’s Gang Friend say about her?”

Beth’s too tired to correct Annie about Rio’s name, and knows as annoying little sisters go, she’ll just keep doing what she wants to anyways. She finds a set of candles and pulls them out of the drawer, opening the small box.

“He doesn’t say much.” She admits, remembering that the only details that she has is that she was a ‘past something, past almost’ and that Aviles said they worked together for a long time. She literally has nothing else and she’s too afraid to pry.

Ruby instantly shakes her head, “That’s not good, girl.”

“Or maybe it’s just too complicated,” Beth says, putting a few candles in Jane’s cake. “And none of my business.”

Annie snorts, “Like that’s stopped you before.” Both women give her the same look. “What? I think homeboy is trying to slip one past you.”

Beth wants to tell them how _different_ it’s been between them; the late nights and the early mornings in his apartment with Marcus and not enough waffle batter and how she’s trying to convince Rio into buying a Keurig. How she doesn’t know what they are and that it’s confusing and hard yet passionate and that it sometimes feels like coming home.

It’s hard to tell them because they’ve been at this crossroads before; when Annie found out that Beth had sex with him the first time and then they saw Rio hugging that woman in the parking lot, intimately pressing his face into her neck.

They’re looking at her like she’s naïve, that her feelings for him will somehow get her into trouble.

That she’ll end up hurt.

Beth clears her throat and brushes her hands together, taking the icing bowl and cleaning it out in the sink before turning to look at them again. “Whatever his past is with Carlita, as long as it doesn’t affect our business now? then it doesn’t matter.”

“I think we’re just saying that…” Annie continues carefully, “sometimes burying a lot of history and keeping it that way is easier said than done. Trust me, I know this.”

Luckily, Beth doesn’t have to come up with a response because the doorbell rings. “Can you take the cookies outside? I’m going to get the door and then I’ll bring the cake.”

The girls nod and she quickly leaves the conversation to get the front door. Beth lets herself stand there for a moment, gathering herself and putting a smile on her face as she turns the doorknob and—

“Yo.”

It’s Rio. It’s _Rio and Marcus._

“Hi, Ms. Beth.” Marcus smiles up at her, carrying a small pink giftbag.

She opens and closes her mouth, not quite sure what she’s seeing for a moment before the only thing she can think of tumbles out of her mouth: “You’re using the front door.”

Rio smirks, his hand falling to Marcus’s hair, “I’m not here on business.” He glances over her shoulder before his eyes find hers, “You gonna let us in, or?”

Beth quickly takes a step back, nearly tripping over her own feet before letting them inside. She straightens her back and runs her hands down the front of her dress, focusing on Marcus as he attentively looks towards her kitchen.

She can’t even think to look that way, knows Annie and Ruby are probably staring at this scene with their jaws on the floor.

“Honey, if you want to go to the backyard there’s games, okay?” She says, “I think I put a soccer ball out there too somewhere.”

Marcus looks up at his father and Rio nods his head, gently pressing on his back to encourage him forward. “Go head, pop, I’ll be out in a few.”

She takes the little pink giftbag and watches him run towards the kitchen, not wasting another moment before she’s grabbing onto Rio’s forearm and _dragging_ him into the dining room. She shuts the doors behind them, nearly taken back with how good he looks. Simple black jeans and a white t-shirt, the scent of fresh laundry and cologne filling her senses.

Shit this is so bad.

“You can’t be here.”

He stares at her a moment, licking his lower lip before his jaw starts to work. “I don't get you.”

Yeah, okay, she realizes this is the complete opposite of what she was saying the last time they saw one another but, “I thought lingering wasn't safe...you said you didn't want to be here around Dean, that it'd start a scene.”

Rio shrugs his one shoulder, sticking his hands in the pockets of his jeans. His eyes fixate on her, traveling up and down her form in a way that tells her he likes the dress she has on, “I decided I could give a fuck what your husband—”

“ _Ex-husband.”_ Beth squeaks out in exasperation but he doesn’t even stop his sentence.

“—thinks. Besides,” He smiles now, slow and deliberate; it makes her stomach swoop ridiculously, “I'll be on my best behavior. Scouts honor, ma.”

It's not about that and while she wanted him here, she _asked_ him to be here...the longer she thought about everything he'd said the more she knew he was right. There were too many uncontrollable factors, too much that could go wrong—trying to normalize this thing between them wasn't worth ruining her daughter's birthday.

Beth feels a headache brewing along the back of her skull…is she really going to make him leave? She can’t bear to see the disappointment on Marcus’s face when Rio tells them they have to go.

“What…why are you here?” She asks, because there has to be some sort of ulterior motive she hasn’t thought of; the only reason he'd show up after saying he wouldn’t.

"I’m here for _you,”_ He lifts his hand and brushes hair out of her face, thumb stroking the bottom half of her chin a moment, “because you asked me to be.”

And she hates how good that feels.

\--

Beth stares at Rio through the kitchen window, watching him play soccer with Marcus. She’s waiting for the other shoe to drop, for the walls to cave in on her, for some sort of meteorite to hit her house and yet…nothing happens.

Her house doesn’t sink into a black hole, nothing implodes—and yet she can’t help but hold her breath every so often as she just…waits.

Dean hasn’t noticed him yet, he’s in the living room watching some sort of sport with Stan and hopefully not drinking too much beer. She runs a hand over her face as Annie comes back into the kitchen through the patio door.

“Well, it’s safe to say all the PTA moms wanna eat your man like a snack.”

“He’s not my…man.” She says quickly and frowns as she looks at the picnic table—sure enough, the women are _staring_ at him and giggling over wine glasses.

Beth has to squash down every urge in her body that tells her to purposely go out there with a glass of iced tea to hand him. It’s funny…she’s never really had a possessive streak with Dean. Even when he cheated on her, it wasn’t _really_ about the sex and she remembers distantly about how she thought that any other woman could have him. It was about the fact that he was destroying a family, a marriage, just to have his dick sucked.

“Oh really?” She can just tell from Ruby’s tone that she doesn’t believe her, “Is that why he showed up to your daughter’s birthday party with his son—because he’s _not_ your man?”

She groans a little, running a hand over her face. When she looks back outside, Jane is running up to him with mud all over her ballerina dress but Rio doesn’t seem to care as he scoops her up. She’s smiling, wide, giggling as he says something to her—probably ‘happy birthday’ but Beth can’t tell. He sets her down and kneels so he can speak to her face to face, motioning to the gift table to wear the little pink giftbag sits that Marcus was holding when they walked in.

He then stands, takes a stray leaf out of Jane’s hair before Marcus runs up to her with the soccer ball in his hands. They begin playing again, all three of them.

Beth turns her attention to Ruby and Annie who are staring at her, waiting for a response. She leans back against the sink and shakes her head. “I _invited_ him, okay?”

They’re quiet for a moment before Ruby’s eyes grow wide, like she’s finally registered what Beth’s said. “Girl, are you _crazy?”_

Annie sighs and leans against the counter, pinching the bridge of her nose, “When we talked about feelings, I didn’t think it was going to lead you to invite him to family events. What’s next, Thanksgiving?”

Beth glares at her sister, Ruby’s mouth falling open a moment because, “Wait a minute, _feelings?”_

She wants nothing more than to hide in one of the tiles in her kitchen floor. She feels her cheeks redden with blush and splotch lazily down her neck and chest. That conversation she had with Annie about Rio feels so long ago, but she remembers her saying _what you want? I don’t think Rio can give._ The problem? She’s still not sure what she wants. All she knows for sure is that she wants to be a mother, she wants to keep working at the dealership and that she wants to keep working with Rio. She _wants_ Rio…she just isn’t sure what capacity, yet.

“I don’t know what I’m doing,” Beth finally says, a little frustrated. “But I’d appreciate it if you guys would support me instead of judge me—”

“We would never judge you…” Ruby tries to explain but Beth speaks over her, curling her hair around her ear.

“You guys don’t know,” She shakes her head, “You don’t know what it’s like to be so deep in this thing with him; how confusing and terrifying and somehow _amazing_ it all is.” She swallows, straightening her shoulders. “It’s not just about the work or sex…its…”

The patio door opens and Rio walks in, pausing to look at all three of them as their eyes fall on him. His lips twitch a little in amusement, “Am I interruptin’ something, ladies?”

Beth just clears her throat and Annie rolls her eyes as she sits at the kitchen counter, “Usually.”

He moves to stand next to Beth, leaning his elbows onto the counter, pointedly ignoring Annie’s snide comment. “Meant to tell you I took care of the car problem.”

She raises an eyebrow, her gears switching a moment. “Meaning?”

Rio sighs softly, “What part you havin’ trouble with?”

“The ‘taking care’ part, mostly.” She throws back, watching him reach across the counter to swipe at the icing on Jane’s cake.

She smacks his wrist, to which he smirks but it doesn’t stop him from licking icing off his finger. Beth does anything but watch him, including putting one too many candles in the cake.

“Guy’s never been a really good listener which is why we had the problem in the first place but I guess negotiations are rough after you cut someone’s ear off.” Her gaze snaps to his instantly and he grins, slowly, “I’m kiddin’.”

She smacks his arm, hard, to which he just laughs softly and she can see Annie touch both her ears out of the corner of her eye.

“Like I said, problem’s solved. We can move more cars before meetin’ with Veto again; preferably at least twelve.”

Beth shakes her head, “That’s too fast. The point with Veto isn’t to move as many cars as possible but to make sure it runs _smooth._ I want to make sure our quality matches our quantity.”

Rio leans up from the counter and angles his body towards her, considering her a moment before, “So how many?”

She thinks, trying to recall numbers from the past month in their books. “Seven. Then we up it before our meeting with Veto.”

“Aight, seven it is mami.” He licks his lips and glances at the ladies in the kitchen before motioning towards the cake, “Jane sent me on cake patrol.”

Oh shit, the cake, right. “Told her she’d blow out her candles like a half hour ago.” She lifts the cake and hands it to Rio, “Will you take this outside for me, please?”

He does as he’s asked, carefully maneuvering the cake outside while Beth hands Annie a bunch of plates and Ruby some pink napkins with plastic forks. Both of them are unnervingly quiet and before either of them can say anything, she shoos them outside with jobs to do.

She’s about to join them when she realizes she forgot a serving knife and turns to get it out of the drawer.

“Oh my God.”

Beth closes her eyes a moment, like she might be imagining the sound of Dean speaking but she knows she’s not. She turns slowly to look at him, the serving knife in her hand that she sets on the counter before she does something stupid like _point_ it at him to tell him not to do anything ridiculous.

He’s staring out the patio door and from one glance out the kitchen window, she knows what he’s staring at: Rio at the picnic table, sitting next to Jane’s birthday cake with Marcus between his legs. He’s got his hands on his shoulders, smiling at Jane as she does a twirl in her ballerina dress, other parents clapping and Ruby grinning at Annie as she joins in.

“Dean.” She tries as he takes another step closer to the patio door.

“I can’t believe he had the nerve to show up here.”

Beth crosses the kitchen and almost stands in front of him so he can’t go outside, her hand on the doorknob, “Dean stop.” She nearly holds her breath because she knows what’s coming, how everything is going to crumble around her as she utters, “I invited him.”

His eyes snap to her, looking over her expression like he’s digging through her pores looking for the beginning of a joke; the punch line that never comes. Dean’s face flushes red, he’s _angry,_ his fingers flexing down at his sides,

“You _what?”_

She can see conversations they’ve had together passing over his face; how she’s told him she was done, that Rio was only ever around to pick up cash from old jobs, that she didn’t see him, that all the times she wasn’t home she was staying with Ruby or Annie—all of that starts to unravel into streamers at her feet.

He chokes on the next set of words because while he wants to ask, he doesn’t really want to know: _are you in a relationship with him? What is he to you?_ instead he digs up something from the past that feels so long ago.

“Beth, the man _shot_ me—did you just forget about that, or what?”

She sighs and doesn’t mean to roll her eyes but ends up staring at the ceiling a few moments, her hands falling to her hips in an almost condescending manner, “Well, he’s not going to do that _now._ He doesn’t even have his gun on him.”

Dean scoffs, his eyes traveling up and down her form like she’s some sort of deadly bug that must be squished. He’s _disgusted_ with her, she can see it in the corners of his gaze, the pull of his lips at the corners, the way he takes a step back like he wants to keep his distance.

“Oh and I’m sure you _checked,_ right?”

She swallows and tries not to let his demeanor upset her. It’s funny; as often as she’s worked through her relationship with Dean, has worked through the disappointment and the hurt and the frustration—she’s told herself that how Dean feels about her doesn’t matter.

And yet, the way he’s looking and talking to her still digs between her ribs in a painful way that flares throughout her entire body. Beth doesn’t allow him to bait her, however, and just lets a slow breath out her lips.

“I know he doesn’t.” She doesn’t have to check him to know that; he’s not here on business, he’s here with his son because she asked him to be.

Dean shakes his head and moves towards the kitchen counter, “I’m calling the cops.”

Panic instantly ricochets in her chest, dipping low into her belly as she surges forward to—touch him? She’s not sure but her hands are out like she might. “Dean, don’t. He’s here with his son.” She pleads; she’d never ask him for anything, not like this, but she’ll beg him not to do this if she has to.

She can’t bear to see Marcus’s face if his father is dragged away in cuffs. She just can’t.

“He’s a criminal.” Dean snaps, like once again her judgement is clouded.

And maybe it is but, “So am I.” She says quickly, shaking her head, “He’s a good father. He’s not a threat with all these people here, around these kids. I invited him here and—and Jane likes him.”

Beth’s reaching with that last one but she’s not sure what else she can say; Dean looks unconvinced.

“Like mother, like daughter, right?” He sneers, “Jane also thinks the Easter Bunny is real, so I don’t think she’s the best judge of character.”

Beth feels like she’s grabbing at sand slipping through her fingers, knows they have to get outside to cut the cake and is he really going to do this? She takes a step towards the sink where she’s left the serving knife, wanting this conversation to be over. Even if Dean called the cops, they wouldn’t be able to arrest him—they have evidence on him but nothing to put him away; hasn’t that always been the problem? She wants to throw in his face that they could take him out of this house in cuffs, sure, but what were they going to book him on? Enjoying cake at a birthday party with his son?

It’s ridiculous. All it would do is cause cops to stomp around her house and yard, to pull Rio away from his son and to disrupt a perfectly good party.

Beth can literally see all the good-natured conversations that they’ve had about their divorce, about splitting time with the kids, about making this separation as painless as possible go up in smoke in front of her eyes. She’s sacrificed it to try and blend her two worlds together, to try and normalize her relationship with Rio—even though she’s not even sure what it is at this point.

She just hopes its all worth it.

“Dean please;” She scrambles, “Calling the cops won’t do anything. All it’s going to do is ruin your daughter’s birthday, do you really want that?”

He grabs her arm, almost towering over her like he wants to shake some sense into her, “I guess you should have thought about that before you invited him here.”

Whatever’s about to happen is interrupted by the back door opening, Rio taking a step inside. He turns to look at them, pausing as his eyes flutter down to where Dean’s hand is wrapped around her wrist.

His back straightens a little, moving further into the kitchen and letting the door hang slightly ajar behind him. “You good?” He asks, his eyes searching her own.

She sees the rubber band pull taut in his jaw, barely contained irritation in Dean’s presence—but he promised he’d be on his best behavior so he doesn’t move as he probably wants to. Beth clears her throat and nods, untangling herself from Dean’s grasp.

“She’s fine.” Dean bites out, eyes a little wild.

“I ain’t askin’ you.” Rio’s voice is calm and cold, like a stream gliding over rocks. “Elizabeth.”

That gets her attention and she looks up, their eyes meeting. He holds her gaze a moment and waits—wants to hear her say it.

She holds her wrist in her other hand a moment, fingers rubbing over irritated skin before, “I’m fine.” She assures him before glancing up at Dean. “We’re _fine_.” It’s pointed and hopefully enough to break the trance of him staring at Rio like he wants to jump on him, which won’t end well for anyone.

Before she can say anything else, Marcus runs up behind Rio and into his legs so fast that his knees nearly buckle with the force of it.

“Cake time Ms. Beth!”

She swallows as Rio’s hand comes down on Marcus’s shoulder, giving a firm squeeze. He says something in Spanish to him and whatever it is, it’s quick and calm and Marcus’s back straightens as he listens. He glances at Dean and takes a step behind his father, one hand holding onto his leg while his the other fists fingers into his shirt like a lifeline. Rio’s hand then falls to his hair, stroking through it as he looks over at Beth.

“Jane wanted me to check on the knife for the cake. She’s gettin’ a little impatient,” A soft smile tugs the ends of his mouth, “Think there’s only so many times she can run through a dance recital.”

Beth clears her throat and when she’s looking at Dean, his eyes are trained on Marcus attached to Rio’s leg. He looks like he’s working through the same thought process that Beth originally had when she saw that Rio had a son at the playground. He then shakes his head, motioning to the serving knife Beth has in her hand.

“Well we…best not keep her waiting.” He tries to smile but it looks weird on his face.

Beth quickly walks towards the patio door, Rio picking Marcus up to put on his hip as they all walk outside. Tension feels thick, like she’s walking through cotton but she’s pretty sure she’s imagining it. She dissolves it as quick as she can by lighting candles, Jane’s clapping and askew bows in her hair making her smile.

The pressure unknots from her shoulders and melts down her arms, focusing on making her daughter happy for her birthday—she can worry about all the drama that’s sure to come back later.

When the candles are lit, Beth picks Jane up to have her stand on the seat of the picnic table, Annie coming up behind her to fix her skirt. She laughs softly and shakes her head, “Okay, you ready?”

When Jane nods everyone begins singing happy birthday, Beth’s eyes moving over the crowd. Dean’s on the other side of her, watching his daughter with a fond genuine smile even though there’s still tension in the corners of his eyes. Ruby is holding onto her own daughter, grinning at Jane and singing the loudest.

Beth can feel his gaze, he’s the only one not watching Jane.

She looks up, her eyes connecting with Rio’s as he holds onto Marcus. She’s caught in watching him for a little, a heated sensation traveling down her spine and settling in her lower belly. His eyes are warm and matching his gaze as he glances at his son before offering a soft smile at Jane as the song finishes up. That scruff along his jawline is something she can feel against her own skin; her chin, her chest, in-between her legs—hands strong and fingers brushing the side of her face, gripping her waist, sinking lower to tear her apart.

Beth sinks into the sensation, allows herself to be pulled away by the wave of her emotions that she nearly misses Jane blowing out her candles. She smiles and leans down to kiss her daughter’s temple,

“Who wants cake?”

She laughs as so many kids screech, reaching for small pink plates and bowls while Dean dishes out ice cream. Her eyes keep meeting Rio’s, because his gaze never leaves her, as she deals out cake. It’s not too long before she’s handing a small plate to Marcus with two forks so Rio can share.

He winks at her before swiping icing off the top with his finger and bringing it into his mouth. She huffs out a soft sound and rolls her eyes, cleaning up the cake as Jane takes off with her friends and has Annie and Ruby brew some coffee for parents who will no doubt be taking their kids home soon.

Beth steals a look at Dean and just hopes that this party can end without another fight brewing.

\--

When the day starts melting into twilight and the party begins to wrap up, she notices Dean disappear to his office and stay there—which is probably for the best. She bites down on nerves that tell her he’s doing something a little nuts like calling the police now or devising some sort of detailed corkboard plan she’s only ever seen in detective shows to get rid of Rio.

Beth sighs and focuses on putting away leftovers in her kitchen, Ruby ushering out parents who are leaving and Annie cleaning up the backyard. She’s not sure what she’d do without to two of them.

“Last of the parents are gone except…” Ruby trails off, leaning against the kitchen counter as she watches her put cake into to-go containers.

Her eyes flutter up to her friend a moment before she hums. “You think he wants cake?”

Ruby scrunches her nose. “Does he eat cake?”

Beth laughs softly and sets one aside for him before wiping her hands off on a dish towel. “Yeah, I’m sure he doesn’t have anything against cake.”

Annie opens the back door and begins carrying in sets of gifts to put down in the living room before picking one up, investigating it like she might be able to see what’s inside without ripping it open.

“Think Jane would mind if I opened one?”

Beth throws a plastic spoon at her, “Annie, put the gift down.”

She huffs out something dramatic before doing what she’s told, “Geez fine, just asking.”

Annie joins the girls in the kitchen, sitting at the counter after pouring herself a cup of coffee. She can feel unasked questions hanging in the air, waits for them to leave their mouths but…they never do.

“Well, Dean didn’t call the cops, so I guess that’s a plus.” She mumbles.

Her sister snorts, “Dean’s not that ballsy. Besides, Rio could probably kill him with a toothpick, so.”

Beth rolls her eyes and takes a sip from her own coffee cup, running a hand through her loose curls. “It wasn’t a total disaster, right?”  

Annie shrugs, “As disasters go, I’d say it wasn’t Chernobyl.”

Ruby reaches across the kitchen counter and takes her hand, squeezing just a little and it’s not until their skin touches that she realizes how much she needed that. “I wanna say something before I lose my nerve and I’ll probably regret it because we already know homeboy is crazy.”

Annie hums against the rim of her coffee cup but she seems to know where Ruby is going with this. Beth swallows, nerves swimming up in her chest and floating against her ribcage but she doesn’t try to interrupt what Ruby is about to say.

“Ya’ll seem…different.” Beth blinks and goes to open her mouth because _what?_ and Ruby lifts her hand up to explain, “You mentioned how it wasn’t just about work or sex…about feelings? I didn’t see it before but, he looks at you differently. He _listens_ to you; really considers things you say. Not to mention he showed up here, which could have been a _really_ bad idea.”

Beth feels like the verdict is still out on that one but it means _a lot_ for them to say this to her, more than she can say.

“We still don’t trust him,” Annie says quickly, to which Ruby agrees with a ‘oh hell no’, “But we trust _you,_ whatever you decide.”

She smiles and rounds the corner so that can successfully sandwich herself in-between them and wrap her arms around their shoulders for a hug. They both squeeze her, Ruby laughing gently and Annie making a groaning sound.

“Okay, but seriously, if I can’t open one of Jane’s gifts can I at least see what icing is left on those cookies.”

Beth laughs as she pulls back, shaking her head as Ruby gives her a look. “Seriously? It’s gonna go straight to your thighs.”

She scoffs, “It’s not _just_ for me, okay, Sadie had to miss this little shindig to spend time with his father—least I can do is bring him home some cookies.”

“If they even make it home.”

The girls continue to discuss cookies and icing while Beth glances at Dean’s office across the house before slipping outside the patio door. As she walks into the backyard, Marcus is running around with her kids, playing a game that she isn’t sure she knows the rules to—but they’re laughing and zipping through trees and up through the treehouse that it makes her envious of their energy.

Rio is sat on the picnic table, feet firmly planted on the seat as he leans his elbows onto his knees. He turns his head to her when he hears her approach, a soft smile pulling at the ends of his mouth when she stands next to him.

“I’m gatherin’ him up in a minute.”

Beth shakes her head, wrapping her arms around herself a moment as she watches the kids play. She puts a to-go container of cake behind him. “No rush, it’s alright.”

He runs a hand over the lower half of his face, “Oh you mean your ex-husband ain’t gonna try to chase me out of the house with a spatula or some shit?”

A soft laugh escapes her lips and she looks over her shoulder out of habit, like she has no idea what Dean’s capable of anymore before, “No, but that’s almost too bad.”

“Too bad.” Rio echoes with a soft hum, braiding his fingers together as he watches Marcus chase Jane with what looks like a princess wand.

She swallows, her eyes tracing over the profile of his face a moment and her body like a magnet takes a step closer to him in the grass. “I’m sorry about him, by the way.” She can almost understand where he’s coming from, really, she can—but part of her is so tired of making excuses for Dean’s behavior.

“Don’t apologize for him,” He says quickly, “I knew what I was gettin' into when I decided to show up."

Beth’s eyes zero in on Rio’s hands as his thumb absently rubs against the other, her dream creeping into the back of her mind like a fog. She feels those hands on her, on the top of her head, _pushing_ her underneath the mud even though she struggles.

She doesn’t see him reaching out to her, gently tipping her chin so she’s looking at him. She jumps just slightly but doesn’t pull away and he watches her with a tender carefulness that makes her feel warm head to toe, his thumb brushing along her jawline.

“Why did you decide to come today?” She whispers, knowing she’s already asked him but—she needs to hear it.

Rio licks his lips, pausing a moment to get up off the picnic table. He stands in front of her and she has to tip her head back to look at his face because of their slight height difference. His hand is on her face again but it’s quick as he leans forward and presses the softest of kisses to her forehead.

“Because.” He replies and the fact that a simple word digs so deep spreads warmth throughout her entire body, reaches into her chest and _squeezes._

She smiles softly as he turns to walk towards the swing set, watching him scoop his son up before waving at Jane. He wishes her a happy birthday one more time, Marcus laughing as Rio holds him upside down like a monkey before swinging him over his shoulder.

“What do we say to Ms. Beth?”

He’s laughing as he replies, “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” She smiles and ruffles his hair gently before handing Rio the to-go container.

“Cake!” Marcus exclaims as they begin to walk through the backyard to leave.

Rio rolls his eyes, “None before bed, pop, you’ll be up all night.” He looks over his shoulder at her, “See you.”

Beth watches him disappear out of the yard before taking in a long breath into her lungs, letting it out into the night air. “Alright guys, inside! Come on!” She smiles and scoops Jane up, giving her kisses along her face until she giggles, “Especially you birthday girl.”

She shuffles everyone inside and upstairs to get ready for bed, pausing at the living room to glance over the selection of gifts Jane’s gotten from her party. It’s a tradition to spread the gifts over a few days to keep her birthday excitement alive…but usually Beth has to push her to open a few at a time so it doesn’t last a week.

She smiles just a little at the small pink giftbag sticking out on the corner, her hands reaching for it before she can stop herself. Beth tugs the tissue paper aside and pulls out a string of gold, glittery fairy lights—and it’s upon closer examination that she realizes they’re little crowns.

There’s a piece of paper inside with a note that is most definitely Rio’s looped scrawl: _it's never too early to start actin' like a queen._

Beth smiles and decides she’s going to take this gift upstairs to give Jane before bed, holding onto Rio’s note in her palm a little longer than she has to as she goes up the steps—

just because.  

**Author's Note:**

> always taking prompts ;) at this point you should know where to find me but just in case! blainesebastian.tumblr.com/ask


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